"Thou shalt not commit adultery" - a shorter, scaled-down version of 'A Short Film About Love', with a less complex plot and a different ending - though the basic narrative about the relationship ...
"Honour thy father and thy mother". Young Anka and her father have lived together since her mother's death, and have always been more like close friends than father and daughter. One day, Anka ...
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods" - especially not when it leads to the conclusion of this black comedy about two brothers who inherit their father's valuable stamp collection and end up ...
The plot couldn't be simpler or its attack on capital punishment (and the act of killing in general) more direct - a senseless, violent, almost botched murder is followed by a cold, ... See full summary »
Director:
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Stars:
Miroslaw Baka,
Krzysztof Globisz,
Jan Tesarz
Two parallel stories about two identical women; one living in Poland, the other in France. They don't know each other, but their lives are nevertheless profoundly connected.
Filip buys an eight-millimetre movie camera when his first child is born. Because it's the first camera in town, he's named official photographer by the local Party boss. His horizons widen... See full summary »
Director:
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Stars:
Jerzy Stuhr,
Malgorzata Zabkowska,
Ewa Pokas
It's 1982: Poland is under martial law, and Solidarity is banned. Ulla, a translator working on Orwell, suddenly loses her husband, Antek, an attorney. She is possessed by her grief, and ... See full summary »
Director:
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Stars:
Grazyna Szapolowska,
Maria Pakulnis,
Aleksander Bardini
This is a series of ten shorts created for Polish Television, with plots loosely based upon the Ten Commandments, directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski. Two of these, Dekalog 5 and 6, are shorter cuts from the feature-length films--Krotki film o zabijaniu (A Short Film About Killing) and Krotki film o milosci (A Short Film About Love), respectively. They deal with the emotional turmoil suffered by humanity, when instinctual acts and societal morality conflict.Written by
Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>
The ten films are titled simply by number (e.g. Dekalog: One). According to Roger Ebert's introduction to the DVD set, Kieslowski said that the films did not correspond exactly to the commandments, and never used their names himself. See more »
It's worth noting that about the same time this was airing on censored, Communist Poland TV, America was airing the "Heart to Heart reunion" and "V". Obviously, the Ten Commandments themes that it reportedly addressed in order are not actually in order, some of the shorts address two and even three commandments. No worries, though.
This collection is a masterpiece. It's a major accomplishment with every film short being watchable, and some being unquestionable masterpieces. Kieszlowski is a master of presenting both sides of the argument; the pregnant, cheating wife and the cuckolded husband's doctor; the peeping Tom and the lonely woman; the atheist father and the religious sister.
The final film centers on two brothers who inherit the stamp collection of their recently deceased father. They come to find that the collection is priceless and they scheme to sell it, mistrusting their father's former colleagues and ultimately one another. But despite their eventual downfall, the brothers find something of value from their folly. It's wonderfully affirming without being sentimental. That sentence probably describes most of these shorts.
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It's worth noting that about the same time this was airing on censored, Communist Poland TV, America was airing the "Heart to Heart reunion" and "V". Obviously, the Ten Commandments themes that it reportedly addressed in order are not actually in order, some of the shorts address two and even three commandments. No worries, though.
This collection is a masterpiece. It's a major accomplishment with every film short being watchable, and some being unquestionable masterpieces. Kieszlowski is a master of presenting both sides of the argument; the pregnant, cheating wife and the cuckolded husband's doctor; the peeping Tom and the lonely woman; the atheist father and the religious sister.
The final film centers on two brothers who inherit the stamp collection of their recently deceased father. They come to find that the collection is priceless and they scheme to sell it, mistrusting their father's former colleagues and ultimately one another. But despite their eventual downfall, the brothers find something of value from their folly. It's wonderfully affirming without being sentimental. That sentence probably describes most of these shorts.